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Conor McGregor has built his reputation as an early-round fighter. If this list were to include his pre-UFC days, it would include knockouts that took the Irishman 16 seconds, 4 seconds, 66 seconds, 69 seconds, etc.
His rise to the top was filled with spectacular finishes in early rounds and that along with his brash personality is what instantly attracted the UFC to him. As you know, it didn't take too long for him to make an impact.
By his third fight in the UFC, he was already main eventing Fight Nights and by his sixth fight in 2015, he was a PPV headliner. Since the summer of 2015, he's never been lower than the main event on the card and has proven to be the "A-side" of every major fight. He's currently the biggest star in MMA history, whether he has a title or not.
His return at UFC 246 proved exactly that and he created history by being the first person to have finishes over three different weight classes (Featherweight, Lightweight, and Welterweight).
Without further ado, here are his five quickest knockout victories in the UFC.
#5. vs Dennis Siver - 116 seconds
Dennis Siver was the man that Conor McGregor needed to beat to cement a title shot. By this time, McGregor's viewership numbers and drawing power was clear and this was supposed to be the last hurdle to get to Jose Aldo.
It turned out not to be the case as McGregor had to go through Chad Mendes and become Interim Champion at UFC 189, but he ultimately ended up with the title. There was bad blood with the German Dennis Siver and McGregor fought in Boston, which is known to host many people of Irish descent.
He would steamroll through Siver, taking just 116 seconds in the first round to finish him.
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#4. vs Dustin Poirier - 106 seconds
Dustin Poirier is an entirely different fighter in 2020 than he was in 2014. At the time, he was a Featherweight and couldn't reach his potential. He was matched up against Conor McGregor and was caught up in the moment.
It took the Irishman all but 1 minute and 46 seconds of the first round to get a TKO over The Diamond. Poirier has taken major strides since then and is one of the most dangerous contenders in the Lightweight division - winning the Interim Champion by beating Max Holloway and falling just short to Khabib Nurmagomedov after putting on a good fight.
He still awaits a rematch with McGregor.
#3. vs Marcus Brimage - 67 seconds
Marcus Brimage can probably be described as a welcoming mat for certain superstars, unfortunate to say. Having a record of 7-7, Brimage was the one to welcome McGregor to the UFC.
He was his first hurdle and McGregor went right through him, taking just seven seconds over a minute of the first round to finish Brimage and prove to everyone that all the hype coming from Ireland was indeed real.
#2. vs. Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone - 40 seconds
The most recent addition on this list, Conor McGregor made a big return after 15 months away from the sport to take on Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone. His last fight before UFC 246 was in October 2018 against Khabib Nurmagomedov in the biggest fight in MMA history.
As you know, McGregor was defeated decisively in a dominant performance from the Russian Lightweight Champion. He admitted in the build to UFC 246 that he was in a bad place in life and was drinking a lot more than he should have.
Against "Cowboy" Cerrone, he cleaned up his act and brought a whole new side to himself. His return was marked with an emphatic 40-second knockout over the veteran Cerrone and mark his return successfully.
#1. vs Jose Aldo - 13 seconds
The first of many Million+ PPV for Conor McGregor, this was one of the main points of his rise to stardom. While his Madison Square Garden performance against Eddie Alvarez can be considered as the culmination, this was a huge pivot to that.
He faced his rival Jose Aldo for the Featherweight title in a highly-anticipated match at the end of 2015. It had been ten years since Aldo had even lost a fight and McGregor took over in a big way, knocking the Brazilian legend out in just 13 seconds.
It was history made and McGregor is unlikely to ever top this personal record of his again.
